Sometimes
by kikos ai
Summary: Sometimes,Boom will allow himself to admit that he is a bit obsessed with Bridge Carson. Slash, mm


Warnings: Hmm…buttery angst and non explicit slash (m/m).

Disclaimer: Don't own PR or the characters.

Dedication: To my fellow Boomers, especially Wildfore71 (luv ya!) and to my roommate who's a scary mixture of Sky and Boom to my rambling Bridge-ness. We're a wonderful pair really.

**Sometimes **

Sometimes, in the strangest moments really, Boom will allow himself to admit that he is a bit obsessed with Bridge Carson.

This admission usually occurs late at night, long after the other lab techs have packed up for the night and the only ones left are Kat and Boom. Kat's always on him to leave early-

'_Really Boom, go out and have fun! Relax, I can handle it from here.' _

But when the lab door shuts behind him, with its definite, near silent 'hiss', Boom is alone in the hallway.

It was like that before, pre-Bridge, pre B squad, pre-Grumm. When he had first started at the academy, his three day stint as a cadet didn't made him any friends-it only guaranteed that he would become the newest academy joke and target.

Even hiding in Kat's lab didn't prevent the smirks, the occasional SPD handbook appearing in his mailbox, or the bucket of ice water suspended above his doorway. Loneness, or teasing, he was either ignored or pranked with nothing in between.

Then the rangers began to arrive at the academy; first Sky with his serious expression and tragic childhood. No one dare touch Sky, the son of a hero, even through as a new D squad recruit he was nothing but a gangly fourteen year old with a chip on his shoulder. Instead there were stares, whispers that followed him, and circulating rumors for and against him. Perhaps that was worse. Bullying could be avoided, but the truth was formless, something to be endured silently and alone.

As much as Boom hated to admit it, with Sky around Boom felt the academy's attention shift and he was glad for it.

Then years later, Sydney Drew, pop star/athletic champion and all around teen idol arrived at the academy to a flurry of media attention and fanfare. Crowds of students and reporters formed a near permanent circle around the petite girl. Boom felt nothing when Syd breezed by him with her entourage or when she mistook him for the academy janitor on her first day. She was perfection, worthy of the spotlight and he was…well….Boom. Syd never even bothered to learn his name until…

Bridge Carson. The only one in the academy stranger than him.

Bridge. His first real friend.

Boom met Bridge on his first day at the academy; shy and nervous in a D squad uniform a size too big for him, Bridge stumbled into Kat's lab looking for the kitchen with a slice of bread in his hands.

'_I'm looking for a toaster-not just any toaster but like a really really good one! You know that's like, super fast and super hot, and works at just the right centigrade for optimal toastage- perhaps one connected to a DC processor like the one I have back home!'_

'_You have a tricked up toaster at home?'_

'_Of course, doesn't everyone have one?' _

In Bridge, Boom found a kindred soul-someone who accepted his bumbling and occasional accidents for what it was-a part of his personality.

'_Boom! I got the new issue of Extreme Upgrade! There's an article on how to turn an antique I-Pod into a digital mousetrap! I think we can do it on Sky's palm pilot, wanna try?' _

Of course the same general teasing Boom had endured transferred to Bridge-at first. Unexpected trips down flights of stairs, a punch during training that was too hard, name calling down the hall.

There goes the freak and the failure, the lab rat and the weirdo cadet.

'_Hey Carson, why don't you and your girlfriend go play with your dolls somewhere else!' _

'_Ugh Freaks!'_

'_I don't even know why Cruger lets homos like you in, Carson!' _

'_Just drop out already, Carson-just like your buddy!'_

Boom couldn't stop the teasing-he didn't know how. As time wore on he saw his younger friend's smile become forced, his step lose its bounce. It broke his heart to see his friend start avoiding the cadet mess hall and start hiding in the labs like Boom had a habit of doing. He couldn't stand to see his friend suffer, but at first Boom didn't know how to stop any of it.

But then he realized he could do what he was famous for-divert attention.

It didn't take much, really. A crossed wire. A dropped test tube. Tripping at the opportune moment. He could divert attention from his friend onto himself. It was Boom that they could sink their teeth into. He was already a failed cadet; what harm would more teasing do, really?

It was what he was good at, being the butt of every cadet's joke.

The funny man.

Good o' Boom.

And it worked! While he continued on as the joke of the academy, his Bridge rose in rank, C squad then B squad; new, better fitting uniforms, new quarters, and patrol weapon. Bridge even found new friends in the form of Syd and Sky-friends that reluctantly accepted Boom as the inevitable companion of their new squad mate.

Once Bridge was switched to rooming with Sky, the teasing seemed to stop completely-the cold stare Sky sent anyone who so much as looked at his roommate the wrong way would have frozen small lakes in the summer.

Plus whenever Sky was around Boom, no one tried anything. Sky gave Boom moments of peace that were special as they were rare. Sometimes Syd smiled at him and occasionally said good morning to him in public…It was great.

It was…increasingly….lonely.

With new uniforms came new responsibilities. It wasn't that Boom's job remained stagnant- as the years went on he took on more and more responsibility, until he was Kat's chief assistant. But as a cadet Bridge had less free time and stricter regulations on what he could do. The younger man had a curfew and besides it was important that Bridge bond with his teammates, his roommate Sky. That's what SPD cadets do after all.

But this was ok. As long as Boom's parents didn't know about his expulsion (how could he ever, ever let his parents know their son was such a failure? Such a loser?) he was happy to see Bridge excel. Happy to have Syd learn his name and eventually come to some respect for him. To have Sky's protection for brief periods of the day.

Ecstatic to see Bridge slowly become the "best cadet ever."

He was proud to see Bridge become more confident. So confident that the teasing finally died altogether and Boom didn't need to keep up his persona of lovable moron for his friend's sake. His Bridge was a B squad cadet, no longer in need of protection.

But things kept slipping between his fingers, often in front of Bridge and especially when they were alone. After two years Boom's original intentions had become murky, a distant memory Boom never touched.

The reason for his clumsiness never seemed to matter when Boom was with Bridge. If Boom dropped a spare part or accidentally let loose a minor explosion in the lab, Boom only saw his friend's concerned expression, the fondness in his eyes and the attention of his stare…

So explosions kept happening around Kat's lab-much to her dismay. If she noticed their increase around the same time Jack Landers and Z Delgado arrived at the academy, she didn't tell anyone. It seemed that the accidents were no longer limited to just when Bridge was around but whenever Boom allowed his mind to wander or daydream.

'_I'd give anything to be the red ranger!' _

He once told Jack. It was true. He'd even be the pink ranger. Anything to be more than the clumsy chief gadget inspector. Anything to be somewhere other than in the lab watching the rangers go at the latest robot in their Runners. To be out there instead of sitting on a lab stool, watching with tightness in his chest, as the big green truck takes angles at great speeds and sharp turns….

Sometimes, late at night after a major zord battle, when Kat is finished with organizing maintenance on the runners, Boom will allow himself to admit he is a bit obsessed with Bridge Carson. The acknowledgement is brief-seconds long really-existing in the time it takes for Boom to cross the distance of Kat's lab to the door.

He imagines if he was a ranger, perhaps this obsession might fade. If he was less clumsy, perhaps then he wouldn't be alone when the lab door closes on an empty hallway. Instead of heading home, he might be in the B squad lounge with his teammates…he might be someone who protects others instead of someone who is just a distraction.

Sometimes Boom will pretend he is a ranger-if only so his clumsiness will fade.


End file.
